'Selling my products regionally as much as possible'

organized for the sixth year in a row Boerenbusiness the crop tour. Also this year we follow ten arable farmers throughout the Netherlands in the cultivation of yellow seed onions. In this series of business reports, we introduce the entrepreneurs. This time: Ruud Vossebeld from Beemte Broekland (Gld).

Vossebeld made the step from conventional onion cultivation to bed cultivation two years ago. He likes growing onions on beds. The machine park is set up in such a way that he carries out all work in-house. Vossebeld is also involved in the regional sale of its products.

That's why 20 business and personal questions to Ruud Vossebeld, participant in the Boerenbusiness Crop tour Onions.

Which onion varieties are in your crop plan this year?
"The onion varieties that are grown are Red Tide (red onions) and Vento (yellow onions). The choice of these varieties is based on maturity, hardness and yield. Personally, I can handle these varieties well on the sand."

What crop rotation do you use in onion cultivation?
"The crop rotation is 1 in 8 or 1 in 10. I want to keep a large crop rotation, because I can exchange enough land with livestock farmers."

What do you think is the most beautiful crop to grow on your farm?
"Actually, those are two crops: seed potatoes and onions. These are also the main crops and the most intensive crops on our farm."

What occupation would you have had if you were not a farmer?
"I would probably have done something in the technique. Definitely something with my hands, I'm definitely not an office worker."

Are there any secondary activities on your farm besides arable farming?
"We sell potatoes at home and grow the onions for a regional concept 'From our soil'. These are twelve supermarkets where the regional products are sold. We prepare these on the order of the supermarket. These packages are collected and distributed. supermarkets can place an order with us twice a week. In addition, we organize a potato turnip day every year in June. The idea behind this is to transfer knowledge to people, so that they can learn how a potato grows."

What kind of tillage/fertilization is done for onion cultivation?
"Usually we plow the soil, but that depends on the pre-crop. Then we mill the beds with a cultivator. I first let the beds collapse for three to four days and then I sow the onions in them. This is how my tillage works. "

What is the crop protection strategy for the onion crop?
"We start with LDS (low dose system) as much as possible. I try to avoid contact agents as much as possible. I use a lot of soil herbicides. The aim is to burden the crop as little as possible and to keep the onions growing as much as possible I also see opportunities to do the weed control with a weeding robot, which I expect to purchase within 10 years."

What are you proud of when you look at the company or cultivation?
"I am proud of the small scale of my company. The various crops are profitable, despite the size. While this area, with a lot of livestock farming, is not always the easiest for me as an arable farmer. Consult the neighbor or borrow a machine from him is not quick, so we are proud of what we have achieved so far.”

How do you see the future of the company?
"More mechanization, for example, with what I just mentioned, the weeding robot. I see that as a great added value because I think the package of crop protection products will continue to shrink in the coming years. I expect that we will have to discover what is technically feasible for us for a healthy I would also like to develop myself in the field of storage, so that I can store all my products myself."

What has been the best choice/change in recent years on the farm?
"The best choice really was to grow onions on beds. We still need to optimize this further, but that takes time. I think onion cultivation on beds can really add value to the company. Especially on my land."

Fries (french fries) or boiled potatoes?
"I like to eat both."

Potatoes from your own company or potatoes from the supermarket
"Potatoes from our own company. We also sell the potatoes ourselves."

What activities are you most looking forward to during the year?
"Sowing and crop care, that's the period I look forward to the most, every year. That's also the busiest time. If you do all that right in the beginning, you'll get the most credit from your work during the harvest It sometimes stands and falls with a choice at a certain moment."

What is number 1 on your bucket list?
"I want to go back with my son to the place where I did my internship in Canada."

What role does the cultivation of onions play on your farm?
"The seed potato cultivation is simply the most important for our company, but the onion cultivation is shared first. The rest of the crops also deserve full attention, even if they are less intensive. You don't just add anything, but you can do it less quickly do wrong."

Are the onions sold off the field or from storage?
"This year, part of it was sold from land and part from storage. In recent years, everything was sold from land. In the future, the idea is to store everything."

What is the sales strategy of the products?
"I'm not a big fan of the onions in the pool. I mainly look at what's going on in the world. I don't take any chances in my choices. I think carefully about the conditions, for example. That ultimately determines to a large extent your yield. The idea is to store the onions or the ex-land price must be of such a level that I think: sell those onions!"

What do you see as the opportunities and threats?
"I'm in an area where almost no onions are grown. On the other hand, there are many small plots, so I can use the area less efficiently compared to other parts of the Netherlands. Many plots of grassland also have wireworms."

Can the onions be irrigated? If so, what is the strategy you use?
"We can irrigate from the source. We have sufficient capacity with the reel. We use AgroExact's soil moisture sensors to determine when we need to irrigate.

Why are you participating in the Onion Crop Tour?
"Learning from each other through knowledge exchange. Watching how other growers deal with certain challenges and how they solve them. I like to be surprised."

What are your hobbies?
"Work is a hobby, a hobby is a job. I mountain bike every now and then. Carnival is not lacking either. I am on the council of eleven."

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